Anna Katharine Green 
Dark Hollow 

A mysterious veiled woman slips into the home of the secretive Judge Ostrander in the town of Shelby. The people of the town rush after her to protect their respected judge but in the confusion and furore that follow, a servant of the house dies. In the solemn atmosphere succeeding this drama, the veiled woman refuses to show her face, insisting on telling her story from under her swathes of purple veil. Her name is Deborah and she is the widow of a convicted murderer, a man sentenced to death many years before by Judge Ostrander. She took her young daughter and fled the town in shame when it happened, changing their names and ignoring the past. Now she must confront the truth. By a strange twist of fate Deborah’s daughter is engaged to be married to Judge Ostrander’s estranged son. She has only just learned of her father’s conviction and execution but with steadfast integrity refuses now to sully her prospective husband’s reputation by letting him marry the daughter of a murderer. Deborah is determined therefore to prove her husband’s innocence and she believes the judge who convicted him is the one person in the world who can help. Reluctantly he allows her to stay in his home as a maid while she carries out her mission. But does the judge have something to hide? And if her husband was innocent, who is the guilty party? These are questions that Deborah must answer if she is to redeem her husband’s reputation and secure her daughter’s lasting happiness. But a secret so long buried cannot be uncovered without serious repercussions… Dark Hollow is a truly a compelling and classic tale of hidden guilt, honour and remorse.